IVUP a rewarding program

I am a current senior at San Diego State University-Imperial Valley majoring in Criminal Justice with a passion in criminal law. I have been part of the IVUP program since 2014 and will be graduating in the spring 2018. The IVUP has been very rewarding to me. I have taken advantage of all the opportunities the IVUP has offered. I have been part of the Associated Student Council for three years, and currently serve as the AS treasurer. I have held various internships at the federal and city level with different law enforcement agencies in the Imperial Valley. Throughout college, I have learned that finding a job that I want will not come easy. Employers are looking for at least a bachelor’s degree plus work experience. I have realized that employers want experience, yet they are not willing to give people an opportunity to show their skill sets. How are people like me supposed to get experience when everyone is asking for something we do not have? Therefore, I took the initiative to look for internships locally that will help me begin my law enforcement career. After finishing my third local internship and unenthusiastic for not receiving a notification from the internship I wanted so bad, I finally received the phone call I was waiting for.

Early this year I submitted an application with HNIP (National Internship Program) HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) and the deadline to notify students of approval or denial had passed. However, I received a phone call asking me if I was still interested in a position with a federal agency in Washington, D.C. With no second thought, I said “Yes I am still interested!” I only had nine days to get cleared by the agency, pack, and leave everything in place at home before starting the best ten weeks of my life. Never in a million years would I have thought I would have the privilege to intern in Washington, D.C.

I was selected by the Court Services and Offenders Supervision Agency (CSOSA) and assigned to the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) Office as a full-time intern. I had no idea EEO was available to all employees in almost all employers, as a matter of fact I did not know what it was until I came along. Even though this internship was a law enforcement agency, the duties had nothing to do with what I was interested. I did learn a lot and I am now aware that these services exists, however, I was able to shadow law enforcement officials and compare and contrast with the Federal Southern District of California with D.C.

My duties as a CSOSA EEO intern were to research regulations, executive orders, precedent setting cases, standard library references, and summarize information in narrative form for use of EEO/EO specialist or manager. I also conducted statistical analysis on complaint processing timeframes and EEO base/issues by using the database to assist EEO complaint manager in preparing oversight reports. This internship has been by far the busiest one I have had. I had approximately three big analytical projects throughout the ten weeks. For instance, I had to analyze how many employees filed a complaint within the past six months, what their bases/issues were, and what resolution they wanted. Therefore, I had to prepare a report that, after approval from my supervisor, it was going to be viewed by the CSOSA director.

During these ten weeks I resided in Arlington, Virginia, which is a twenty-five minute commute to D.C. I temporarily resided with three other HACU interns. The best part of this experience was meeting strangers that turn into friends and others that turned into professional advocates. I built close relationships with my roommates and other interns that lived in the same apartment building. Up to this date, we still keep in touch through a social media group chat.

Every day after work and weekends, there was always something to do in the city. Of course, visit the famous monuments, historical locations, federal government buildings, dinner with other HACU interns, and non HACU interns. D.C. is such a small city that within three weeks I no longer needed the GPS to get to destinations. HNIP offered federal building tours to their exclusive interns. I was able to take an inside tour of the FBI Headquarters, and the U.S. Capitol Building. On my free time, I got to visit the Arlington Cemetery, the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and other famous places. For the Fourth of July, my friends and I celebrated Independence Day by doing a BBQ outside our apartment complex, and watching the fireworks displayed from behind the Washington Monu- ment, having the perfect view, sitting at the Lincoln Memorial.

Everything during these ten weeks was an experience. For instance, getting lost and ending at the commentary metro stop twice on the same day within just 15 minutes; I learned how to ride the metro! I learned that the famous National Mall was not a shopping mall, it is a long grassy area bounded by the U.S. Capitol building, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and other monuments and museums.

Every beginning has an ending and every ending has a new beginning. Being able to intern this summer for CSOSA in Washington, D.C. was a life changing experience. I fell in love with the city, D.C. is home! I only came back to California to finish my bachelors, because without one, society says “you can’t do anything.” After graduation, I plan to pursue a master and/or return back to D.C. to begin my law enforcement career. My career goal is to one day become an FBI special agent. I plan to apply to various law enforcement agencies before applying for the FBI. The FBI is a very competitive agency, therefore, I need to work for an agency(ies) that will give me the opportunity to work for them and gain experience in order to demonstrate the FBI I am well qualified for a Special Agent position. Being away from home and leaving the Imperial Valley was such an eye opener which made me realize that there are way more opportunities out there than one thinks.

Thank you HACU for this amazing career opportunity. To my family, friends, advisors, supervisors and mentor, thank you for all your support. Thank you SDSU-IV. Thank you for believing in me, without you guys I would have not been able to get to where I am now. To the students reading this, there are also opportunities for you, you just have to get out of your comfort zone and trust me, and many doors will open. However, please keep in mind that at times you will fail in order to succeed. Things happen for a reason, and you may not know why it happened at the moment, but you will know sooner or later and realize that things do happen for a reason.